John & Bob's Blog

The best and only way to physically improve poor soil is by tapping into the power of nature through the Soil Food Web. That’s right the Soil Food Web -- talk about it at your next dinner party. It can do what nothing else can. Good soil structure, tilth and permeability seem like an impossible dream for many with, hard, clay, alkaline, sandy or other problem soils. The Soil Food Web is a name to describe the complex interactions that occur in and around the soil, involving multiple organisms from microscopic bacteria all the way up to animals. This miracle of nature offers us an economical way to physically change everything about bad soil. It is largely misunderstood, under-appreciated and under-utilized. We have the power to encourage these organisms to thrive and interconnect, and in turn this allows the soil optimizing process to move forward. We offer this infographic to illustrate all the levels of the Soil Food Web and how they interact. Lower life forms, like beneficial fungi and bacteria, break down dead organic matter and keep harmful pathogens out of the soil. Higher microbes, like beneficial nematodes and protozoa, eat the lower forms, releasing usable nutrients to plant roots. Larger organisms, like arthropods and earthworms, aid in decomposition and aeration. Birds and mammals do their part by aerating the soil, eating arthropods to control populations and by adding in their own manure to the organic matter in the soil. They also help transport mycorrhizal and other fungal spores through burrowing and scratching around the soil. It is one big cycle that can be primed, powered and improved through the use of strategic organic inputs. Click here to learn more about the organisms in the soil. By encouraging these complex soil interactions, we can repair poor, lifeless or hard soil and make it fertile and vital again! This process has occurred naturally in forests and wild land all over the world for billions of years and it can happen in your garden! Plants that grow in fertile, living soil have fewer disease problems, and have healthier, strong growth, better food production and stronger root systems. All of this, without damaging the health of the environment or our kids and pets! Take a look at this infographic to see how the Soil Food Web is interconnected. It is simultaneously simple and complex . You can easily foster this in your own soil by respecting the process. Add in organic matter and keep chemical fertilizers and conventional sprays out of your soil! Click here to learn more about our organic soil amendments and organic pest control sprays that work with the Soil Food Web for workable, healthy soil! The Soil Food Web really is incredible so please share this infographic as much as you would like and display it at your party buffet table!